I am not usually superstitious, but what I witnessed on the weekend of the Bernard Mizeki commemorations made me believe in the supernatural.
Report by Jairos Saunyama
I went to buy tomatoes at the market in Marondera town on Thursday, June 11, and an old woman told me that the very low temperatures that prevailed through the town was a result of the Bernard Mizeki commemorations.
The woman, who spoke with vigour and confidence, said before the Anglican factionalism wrangle and when it was Bernard Mizeki’s time, the place was usually characterised by very cold temperatures.
Whether it was a coincidence that the coldest week saw members of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa thronging the sacred shrine, it depends on one’s belief. One way or the other, the week was indeed characterised by a transition from exile.
Though I was born and raised under the Anglican doctrine, I had never attended the annual visit to the shrine. I still remember that my mother never missed the Benard Mzeki commemorations each year.
I grew up in the dusty and hot area of Chikurumadziva in Wedza where each year in June, the local Anglican Church would hire a lorry from a nearby farmer to transport all members to Marondera.
I hated this time mostly because my mother would spend three to five days away from home and leave me in the custody of my sisters.
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Nonetheless, I always cherished how my mother would narrate her expedition to the shrine the very night of her return.
She would bring goodies in the form of fruits and other edibles, but the main highlight of her return was the story of Mizeki himself.
Things changed in 2008 when the battle over control of the church was ignited.
From then on, she never set foot on the shrine confessing her confusion and hurt over the aimless fight over control of church property.
“Ungodly fight”, she would say.
This year she went back with a huge smile on her face and for the first time, she dragged me along so I could have a feel of the holy occasion.
The morning of June 14 was marked by massive volumes of traffic in Marondera as Anglicans jostled to the shrine to get the front seat. Buses, Lorries and small vehicles were seen moving slowly along the thin stripped Marondera-Murewa road.
Clad in their trademark blue and white uniforms, beating drums and shaking the rattles with finesse and etiquette, the women never tired to belt out popular Anglican hymns.
On the following day, the stories about Mizeki’s shrine ignited a determination to visit his tomb 26 years after my birth.
Upon arrival, I was welcomed by a fleet of vehicles amongst them buses.
The car park extended beyond the reach of my sight.
The gathering was awesome. The crowd was huge. It was unbelievable to hear an usher telling me that they had hired 11 000 chairs all occupied with a surplus of thousands of people sitting on bare ground.
The usher said they were going to acquire 4 000 more chairs, but judging by what I saw, the number of people exceeded 20 000.
This year’s event left people wondering how ex-communicated Bishop Nolbert Kunonga could live with himself after depriving believers the opportunity to exercise their faith.
I would vow that even the Kunonga-led faction that have been using the Mizeki Shrine for the past five years never filled the venue to the rafters.
Does this mean there are Anglicans who withdrew from the church? This is the question that popped into my mind as I asked myself where all those people were hiding all along.
Everybody whom I asked about the large crowd told me that for the past five years they had been denied freedom of worship.
Most of them also said they couldn’t bear to worship, surrounded by armed police officers as Kunonga tried to bar the Chad Gandhiya followers from stepping their foot at the shrine.
Others told me that they were confused about the whole thing.
I got a better understanding when on Saturday during the commemorations Bishop Chad Gandhiya, who led the Holy Communion, explained the theme of the event.
The theme was “God Is Faithful” and Gandhiya repeated on numerous occasions how Kunonga had monopolised everything, leaving Anglicans in bondage.
According to Gandhiya, this year’s edition was simply a transition out of exile where the children who were in bondage finally got their freedom.
The last day of the event was indeed a sorrowful one.
It was clear that the congregants never wanted to leave the place.
In fact they wanted to extend their stay, but there is a time for everything.
Finally, they concluded the event peacefully hoping to return again next year.
I parted with my mother in Marondera town on her way to Wedza and I was happy to see her happy like that again.
Then golden memories indeed are back when every church member dreams of attending the glamorous event.
As of the weather changes during the commemorations, I still need more time to look at it.
